Your guide to choosing the right Boxster or Cayman

We've been critical of the latest Boxster and Cayman. On public roads, they feel like sanitized versions of their former selves, something that meets a set of criteria and ups the limit for a margin of safety. They're almost too good at what they do.

But that's only true on the road. Take one to a road course and it wakes up, waking you in the process. You can explore the higher limits. They act like super-Caysters.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

We recently endured the pain of driving all six Boxster/Cayman variants at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca to bring you this guide to mid-engine Porsche selection. In this scenario, you don't have the $845,000 for a 918 Spyder. If you do, go, now, because they're still available. The decision is a bit tougher than coupe or convertible; with the addition of the GTS model for 2015, the Boxman lineup is now six models deep. With tons of performance options. And all of the yellow seatbelts you can handle. Let's wade through the options together.

Weird Boxster fact: It's the only convertible that costs less than its coupe counterpart. So if you want mid-engine Porsche goodness on a (relative) budget, the base Boxster is the place to start.

It's all you need on the street, and still about all you need on a track. With the Sport Suspension, you're closer to the ground and better able to make the most of the available grip; it adds some confidence in fast corners. That said, after just one lap the Boxster S and GTS are pulling away. A 50-hp deficit will do that. Once they're gone, though, you have clear track to do with what you please; the six-speed manual is easy and fun to heel-toe, and even the baby engine sounds great. Understand that this car is not slow—it's just the least-fast of this group.

Cayman

That extra thousand dollars gets you an immovable roof, a little more luggage space, and a higher-output version of the base Boxster's engine. It's a similar experience; the Cayman S and Cayman GTS will eventually leave it in the dust. PTV's brake-based torque vectoring, like many Porsche driver aids, is hard to detect. It'll help the car rotate, maybe not as much as a true mechanical torque-vectoring system, but these mid-engine twins don't need much help there. The locking diff, however, is pretty obvious when putting power down off a corner.

The S model: too much power for the street, which means it's right at home here. This car owes more than a third of its price to options. Most of them, however, have nothing to do with performance.

PDK is optional on all Boxsters and Caymans. It's one of the most intelligent automatic transmission you can buy. Leave it in auto mode, and it figures out what you're doing pretty quickly—the perfect thing to let you worry about other stuff, like braking points and apexes.

Speaking of, PCCB brings stupendous stopping power with no fade. It's also a lot of money, so choose it only if you plan a lot of track time. The standard brakes are more than adequate.

Active suspension is pretty much useless on the street; you're best off leaving it in Normal. Sport is for the track, where it reduces roll and keeps the car settled. Another option that makes some sense for frequent track work, less otherwise.

Same performance options as that Boxster S, minus the carbon brakes. We really didn't notice their absence. We just saved you $7400. You're welcome.

A note on Sport Chrono: It's silly not to get it when you choose PDK. Sure, launch control is a neat trick to show your pals once or twice, but the quicker shifts on track do make a difference, even if it just makes you feel more of the mechanicalness while only saving microseconds. You might want to keep it in Sport for a bit while learning a new track, though, then move up to Sport Plus. The more-aggressive setting can actually be too aggressive at times.

Boxster GTS

As we've said before, the GTS trim is basically an expensive value package. It takes the S, ups the output, and includes otherwise optional stuff like PASM, Sport Chrono, Sport Exhaust, and Sport Seats Plus, all at a slight discount.

This is a conservatively optioned car, considerably cheaper than the Boxster S. The two were pretty evenly matched, with the S car's PDK making up for its lower output. Which brings up an interesting question: Do you want more power or a smart transmission that makes you look better? Remember, you can also choose both.

The king of all mid-engine Porsches that aren't a 918 Spyder. Again, it'd be quicker with PDK, but with all that power why not make a little work for yourself?

Sport Suspension on a car that comes standard with PASM is a thing. You don't get any money back for the price difference, but it's neat that Porsche will let you spec it this way. Same extra confidence applies here as it did on that base Boxster.

The GTS models make sense if (and only if) you were planning on spec'ing most of the included stuff anyway. Still, some will simply prefer the different look, while others will feel the need to have the most letters on their little Porsche's rump.